Technicians’ Average Salary Tops $30,000, Tim Fritz, Brake & Front End, February 2002

Earnings for technicians have risen from 2000, with technicians now making an average of $32,620. This is up from $28,487 in 2000. The shortage of qualified technicians has forced shop owners to raise salaries to keep technicians from switching to another shop that might pay more and have better benefits. The shortage of qualified technicians has also resulted in higher starting salaries for those just entering the automotive aftermarket.

Technicians just entering the field can expect to earn $25,018 on average. This has risen from $22,576 back in 2000. In the same time frame, the most experience technician in a shop has seen his salary jump from an average of $34,398 in 2000 to $40,222 in this year’s survey. (Figure 1 shows the average yearly earning for technicians from 1996 to 2002.)

This year’s BRAKE & FRONT END Salary Survey also broke down technicians’ salaries by the size of the community surrounding the shop. Technicians’ average income in big cities (pop. of 500,000 or more) tops the list at $38,565. Technicians working in medium-size cities (pop. of 100,000 to 499,999) are next on the pay scale, making an average of $34,604. Technicians employed in small cities (pop. 15,000 to 99,999) have also seen an increase in pay during the past two years. This year’s average salary of $30,635 is up from $27,537 in 2000. Technicians working in rural areas (pop. less than 15,000) report making an average salary of $28,770.

Respondents to this year’s survey report technicians’ wages being calculated using various methods. Fifty-eight percent of technicians receive a straight hourly wage or a variation based on hourly wages. The following is a complete breakdown of payment methods:

Hourly — 41%;
Salaried — 14%;
Flat rate — 11%;
Hourly plus percent of labor and percent of parts — 11%;
Other formula — 9%;
Percent of labor only — 8%; and
Hourly plus flat rate — 6%.

In addition to monetary compensation, technicians also receive a wide variety of benefits. The top five benefits, with the percent of technicians receiving them, include: paid vacations, 81.4 percent; work clothes, 79.9 percent; work on own car, 70.7 percent; hospitalization, 58.2 percent; and major medical, 56.4 percent. Also high on this list is paid training with 48.8 percent of technicians being reimbursed for the cost of keeping up with today’s technology.

Also studied was the number of hours in a normal work week for a salaried technician. It was found that the average technician is working 43.7 hours per week.

Taking a closer look at the results, we find that: 4.7 percent work less than 40 hours per week; 43.6 percent work 40 hours; 8.6 percent work 41 to 44 hours; 23.1 percent work 45 to 49 hours; 12.9 percent work 50 to 54 hours; and 7.3 percent put in 55 or more hours per week. Just over half (53.2%) of the respondents report salaried technicians receiving overtime when normal work hours are exceeded. The majority of technicians receiving overtime pay receive 1.5 times their normal rate. There are technicians who receive the same rate for overtime as they receive for normal hours, while in other service facilities, technicians receive a lower figure.

When asked if they were currently looking to hire a technician, 64.5 percent of this year’s respondents said "Yes." When seeking a new technician, the survey revealed that shop owners and managers first turn to their employees for a referral. This was followed closely by placing an ad in the newspaper. Other avenues taken when searching for a new technicians include, in order of most common to least used, contacting vocational/technical schools, contacting other shops, asking a tool truck driver for recommendations and turning to the internet.

A goal of most every technician is to become ASE certified. This year’s survey reveals that 67.7 percent of shops employ at least one ASE-certified technician. If we take a broader look at technician certification, we find that: 32.3 percent of shops have no ASE-certified technicians; 20.3 percent report having one; 18.5 percent have two; 11.8 percent have three; 8.5 percent have four; and 8.7 percent of survey respondents have five or more ASE-certified technicians working at their service facility.

When asked if their shop offers some bonus or incentive for technicians to get certified, 49.6 percent said "Yes." This bonus or incentive can come in different forms. Of the respondents who said their shops offer a bonus or incentive, paying for testing was the most common bonus or incentive at 65.6 percent. A pay increase followed at 43.1 percent, while other shops offered a lump some of cash (14.9%), extra time off (9.2%), or another form of bonus or incentive (4.1%). (Note: These percentage add up to more than 100% because an owner or manager may offer more than one form of incentive or bonus.)

MANAGERS
In addition to gathering salary information for technicians, the BRAKE & FRONT END Salary Survey also studied managers. The median yearly earnings for managers jumped to $40,378 this year from $33,973 in 2000. Managers with little managerial experience can expect yearly earnings of $34,951, while those with the most experience are now earning $45,805.

The study also looked at managerial salaries based on the size of the community surrounding the shop. Managers’ average income in big cities is $43,394. Managers working in medium-size cities top the managerial scale, making an average of $47,675. Managers employed in small cities have also seen an increase in pay during the past two years. This year’s average salary of $35,540 is up from $34,028 in 2000. Managers working in rural areas report making an average salary of $36,716, up from $28,858 in 2000.

While technicians’ earnings were calculated using various payment methods, managers’ earnings can be separated into fewer categories. The majority of managers, 75 percent, receive a salary. The following is a complete breakdown of payment methods:

Salary — 75%;
Salaried plus other — 10%;
Hourly — 9%; and
Other unsalaried — 6%.

In addition to monetary compensation, managers also receive a wide variety of benefits. The top ten benefits, with the percent of managers receiving them, include: paid vacations, 75 percent; work clothes, 69.9 percent; hospitalization, 60.5 percent; work on own car, 60.1 percent; major medical, 59.4 percent; paid sick time, 47.8 percent; paid training, 46.4 percent; life insurance, 45.3 percent; disability insurance, 43.1 percent; and pension plan, 42.3 percent.

SALES/SERVICE WRITE-UP EMPLOYEES
When service facilities are finding good sales people, they are making a strong effort to keep them. The median yearly earnings for a sales/service write-up employee jumped from $23,932 in 2000, all the way to $29,494 in this year’s survey. Sales people with little experience in the aftermarket can expect yearly earnings of $24,940, while those with the most experience are now earning $34,048.

This year’s survey also broke down sales/service write-up employee’s salaries by the size of the community surrounding the shop. The average income in medium-size cities tops the list at $35,126.

Sales/service write-up employees working in big cities are next on the pay scale, with the mid-point being $34,337. Sales/service write-up employed in rural areas have also seen an increase in pay during the past two years. This year’s average salary of $25,304 is up from $21,734 in 2000. Sales/service write-up employees working in small cities report a mid-point salary of $25,048.

Like technicians and managers, sales people’s yearly earnings are calculated using various payment methods. Overall, about 52 percent of sales/service write-up employees receive some form of an hourly wage.

The following is a complete breakdown of payment methods:

Hourly — 46%;
Salary — 29%;
Salary plus percent of labor/percent of parts — 9%;
Other — 6%;
Hourly plus percent of labor/percent of parts — 6%; and
Percent of labor/percent of parts — 4%.

GENERAL SHOP INFORMATION
Additional information gathered in the survey provides a look at how service facilities operate. Respondents to this year’s survey report having an average of 6.1 service bays. When broken down by size of trading area, the following results were gathered: big city — 8.6; medium city – 6.8; small city – 5.4; and rural – 5.2 service bays.

The average number of employees per location is 6.4. When broken down by trading area, the survey reveals: shops in big cities average 8.8 employees; medium city, 7.2; small city, 5.8; and shops in rural areas average 5.1.

The average posted labor rate per hour for independent service facilities is $60.43.

For the first time, this year’s survey asked respondents about their shop’s weekend hours. The survey found that more than 60 percent of shops are now open in some capacity on weekends. While 37.6 percent of shops are still closed on weekends, 54.6 percent are now open on Saturdays and 7.8 percent are open on Saturdays and Sundays.

The survey also looked at the average time owners and employees have worked at the same service facility. On average, owners have been in business at the facility for 20.8 years. The average manager has put in 12.2 years of service, while the average technician has been at the same facility for 10.1 years. Office and sales personnel have been employed for 9.9 and 7.7 years respectively.

METHODOLOGY
The 2002 SALARY SURVEY was executed via mail to a sample of 3,000 readers of BRAKE & FRONT END magazine. The initial mailing date was November 6, 2001. Completed questionnaires were accepted for tabulation through December 19, 2001. The outgoing questionnaires were mailed first class and a pre-addressed, postage-paid reply envelope was provided. The offer of an additional year’s subscription to the magazine was used as an incentive. Babcox Research received 397 completed questionnaires and 26 questionnaires that were undeliverable. This yields a response rate of more than 13 percent. No follow-up mailing was made.

The sample was chosen through a random selection process from the current subscriber list of BRAKE & FRONT END magazine. The targets represent a balanced selection of readers based on geographic area. The respondents exhibited geographic balance as well. The respondents exhibited a distribution very close to that of the current audited BPA circulation statement.